Representations: Memoirs, Autobiographies, Biographies: United States of America

(4,357 words)

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Introduction

Memoir has shown a steady increase in both production and readership in the United States in recent years. Whereas the traditional autobiography has generally lent itself to a chronological timeline of the author’s life, the modern memoir, because of its more personal and narrative nature, allows for more creative elasticity. As Diana Abu-Jaber notes, “[T]he truth of stor…